SUKKUR: Stakeholders, mainly traders, have strongly opposed the move to shift the Ghulam Muhammad Mahar Medical College (GMMMC) from Sukkur to any other place in the province.

The move was discussed at separate meetings of the All Sukkur Small Traders & Cottage Industry Organisation, Sukkur Small Traders Association, Paramedical Staff Union, Bandhani Welfare Organisa­tion and several social and rights organisations over the past few days.

Leaders of these organisations expressed their strong reservations over the reports that a plan to shift the medical college to some other town. They noted with concern that faculty was being transferred from Sukkur to Rohri bypass with a view to finally close down the college’s present campus.

They urged the chief minister and other relevant authorities not to consider any such proposal as the college fulfilled the government’s desire of providing medical eduction to a large number of male and female students from rural areas at their doorstep.

They termed the move to shift the college a conspiracy and vowed to foil it at all costs.

They demanded completion of the under construction portion of the college and a halt to the process of faculty transfer.

Leaders of about 10 organisations including Haji Muhammad Jawed Memon, Abdul Sattar Rajput, Zakir Bandhani, Barkat Solangi, Dr Saeed Awan, Haji Aijaz Memon, Irshad Pathan, Sohail Pathan, Taufiq Bandhani, Musharraf Mehmood Qadri, Irshad Ghangro and Baharuddin Shaikh vowed to resist the move against GMMMC students and their parents.

Intercity march

Workers under the banner of the All Sindh Technical Education Employees Association (ASTEA) on Monday held an intercity march against handing over of the administrative control of government technical education centres of five districts to the Institute of Business Administration, Sukkur.

Students, their parents and teachers, as well as staff of the Sukkur, Khairpur, Jacobabad, Dadu and Naushahro Feroze technical centres, took part in the march, led by Mazhar Ali Abro, president of the association.

Raising slogans against the decision, they started their march from the Khairpur centre and ended it outside Sukkur press club.

Mr Abro and other leaders urged the government to reverse the decision as this was bound to undermine the smooth functioning of these centres and affect performance of students and efficiency of their teachers.

They alleged that ‘privatisation’ of the centres would benefit only the managing director of the Sindh Technical & Vocational Training Authority and its operation director.

Published in Dawn, September 2nd, 2014